Tuesday Hearing Set for Additional Chap Crossing Business Openings
A public hearing will be held Tuesday night following a recent request from Chappaqua Crossing developer Summit/Greenfield to amend its Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO) to allow Life Time Fitness and other establishments to open.
The New Castle town and planning boards will entertain public discussion and will eventually decide whether the roughly 40,000-square-foot high-end health club chain and the 3,000-square-foot Pet Value may debut at the campus on Feb. 1.
Summit/Greenfield has also asked whether the TCO could be amended to include up to another 14,000 square feet of additional space, bringing the maximum space in use to 100,000 square feet while the developer finishes traffic improvements that are expected to be completed in the spring.
The original TCO allowed Whole Foods to open on Dec. 15 along with a Chase Bank branch despite the applicant being unable to finish the required road improvements. Those two operations also account for about 43,000 square feet.
In presentations before the Town Board on Jan. 8 and both boards on Jan. 15, town traffic consultant Lou Luglio said vehicles have moved well around the site at most times since the supermarket’s opening. However, he said he cannot ensure that the current Maintenance and Protection of Traffic (MPT) plan that is in place to help traffic flow near the campus could support more than the two Feb. 1 openings.
“I could not recommend, unless we can do additional analysis and that analysis tells me otherwise, to go beyond the Life Time Fitness and Pet Valu,” Luglio cautioned the two boards last week. “Because just in my point of view, if the northbound (Route 117) approach had an exclusive left-turn lane that was designed for five or six vehicles, that was the ultimate permanent condition, then obviously this could be a different analysis and my opinion could be different.”
Prior to the opening of Whole Foods, the town required Summit/Greenfield to install a long list of improvements in the vicinity of Roaring Brook Road and Route 117, to ensure vehicular and pedestrian safety. Until road construction is complete, Luglio had recommended against a shortened left-turn lane from northbound Route 117 onto Roaring Brook Road.
In addition to Life Time Fitness and Pet Valu, a lease has been signed for a 5,000-square-foot Fidelity Investments office, said Summit/Greenfield CEO and President Felix Charney. Charney said Fidelity is eyeing an opening sometime in March.
A lease for a 2,000-square-foot space is on the verge of being signed by Northern Westchester Wellness Center, he said. No target date has been set for that opening.
Last week, there was reluctance from both boards to amend the TCO for the entire 100,000 square feet without knowing the uses in the remaining spaces and the projected traffic volumes that would be triggered. Most of the board members indicated they were fine to include Fidelity, which figures to generate lower traffic volumes, but not the wellness center or the other 7,000 square feet that don’t have tenants yet.
Town officials said they didn’t want to see a regression in traffic flow during the construction phase.
“All of us are struggling to make sure that we’re comfortable with this Phase 2 with the construction that’s coming down the road,” said Planning Board Chairman Robert Kirkwood. “We know it’s inevitable, let’s just be comfortable that we know what to do.”
Road work could begin sometime next month, although the main construction to build a retaining wall and complete the turn lanes is expected to be done after the asphalt plants reopen sometime in April.
Charney said he could accept the town taking the piecemeal approach as long as it included Life Time and Pet Valu, which are ready to open.
“I just want to avoid coming back and doing this again between now and the (Certificate of Occupancy) because I managed to get Northern Westchester opened or something else,” he said.
Planning Board member Tom Curley questioned why the town should feel pressure to approve any additional businesses.
But Town Board member Jeremy Saland responded that it’s a temporary condition that won’t be solved until roadwork is complete.
“We know ultimately the fix is going to be there and we know that there is going to be more traffic to it at some point,” Saland said. “Why not allow it to move forward because there are other ancillary benefits to people in the community?”
Tuesday’s public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. at New Castle Town Hall in Chappaqua.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/